This invention relates generally to differential devices in the automotive industry and, more specifically, to limited slip differential devices for coupling an input shaft, a first output shaft, and a second output shaft.
In front or rear wheel drive vehicles, a front or rear differential is typically used to transfer the torque and motion from the engine and transmission to the left and right half shafts, and to allow the two half shafts to rotate at different speeds, which is fundamental to the vehicle for efficient turns. For all-wheel-drive vehicles, a central differential is typically installed to allow the front and rear shafts to rotate at different speeds, which, again, is fundamental to the vehicle for efficient turns and for stress avoidance. In a vehicle using a conventional central differential, however, if one wheel loses traction, the other wheel loses traction also. The limited slip differential was created to overcome this problem. In a vehicle using a conventional limited slip differential, if one wheel lost traction and begun to rotate much faster than the other wheel, the conventional limited slip differential sensed the situation and restricted the rotation of the wheel. Because increased traction is very important in a vehicle, especially in off-road conditions, there is a need in the automotive industry for continuous improvement of the limited slip differential.